Greece

Greece has had a very poor track record in reducing the amount of waste going into landfills. One of the main reasons for this, other than the NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) opposition to creating waste management facilities, was that for decades choosing the right technology was the apple of discord, causing disagreement and delaying advancement towards integrated waste management. In the last few years, however, three Public-Private Partnership (PPP) waste management projects have been initiated in Greece.

This past July, within two years of signing the PPP contract in 2015, the first project was inaugurated in Western Macedonia—without a day’s delay, any contract change, or cost overrun. The system will cut the amount of waste going to landfill, reuse material for commercially-viable products, boost the region’s growth prospects through job creation, and raise public awareness to prevent waste.

An artist’s interpretation of the Attika Schools PPP Project in Greece, which reached financial close in Q2 2014
(Photo: World Fianance)

In 2014, the 24 Schools Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project in the wider Athens area marked the reopening of the Greek PPP market and was only the second PPP project to reach financial close in Greece.

It aimed to address the existing quantity and quality need for schools, covering 6,500 students in 10 municipalities who came from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in the historical region of Attica, which encompasses the city of Athens. Benefits included the timely and enhanced delivery of schools to improve educational outcomes, better maintenance through the lifetime of the project, the highest service standards, the response to user needs, and significant savings in energy cost.